Prime Minister Narendra Modi was given the honour for his contributions to the growth of the Indian and global economies. The award committee has credited ‘Modinomics’ for reducing social and economic disparity between the rich and the poor.

The committee has also lauded PM’s initiatives to make the government cleaner through anti-corruption measures and demonetisation.

The Prime Minister was hailed for his contribution towards regional and global peace through a proactive foreign policy with countries around the world under the ‘Modi Doctrine’ and the ‘Act East Policy’.

About the award:

Set up in 1990, the Seoul Peace Prize is biennially awarded to personalities to commemorate the success of the 24th Summer Olympic Games held in Seoul.

The prize was established to reflect the wishes of the Korean people and to emphasise on their desire for everlasting peace on earth.

Suresh Prabhu inaugurates Aviation Infra Projects in 7 States

Civil Aviation Minister inaugurated several infrastructure projects across the length and breadth of the country via video link. This was done in order to make them world class and future ready.

620 crore is being spent on 8 AAI airports in the country to upgrade and revamp airports infrastructure.

Aviation connectivity will not only help in the development of tourism but will also boost trade.

Airports at Rupsi, Assam and Imphal in Manipur will open up the entire South East Asia sector and airports at countries like Nepal and Bangladesh for tourism and trade.

Digital India Awards conferred for excellence in Web Space

Context:

The Digital India Awards have been instituted under the ambit of the National Portal of India by National Informatics Centre, MeitY, to promote exemplary initiatives in e-governance using the medium of World Wide Web.

Details:

Digital India Awards are aimed at creating a healthy competition for high quality, innovative, universally Accessible & Inclusive Presence of Indian Government in Cyber Space.

The Digital India Awards have played a pivotal role in promoting the use of World Wide Web platform as an effective tool for e-Governance. At the same time, numerous departments have been able to take inspiration and emulate the successful innovations which have been recognized and rewarded on the Digital India Awards platform.

Since its inception the Digital India Awards have seen four editions, beginning from 2010, and biennially being conferred in 2012, 2014, & 2016.

The awards over the years have honored various government departments which have done exemplary work.

The Coffee Table Book is prepared with an objective to create awareness about the success of Digital India across the country for the betterment of the common man.

Digital India Awards Compendium:

Digital India Awards Compendium is a compilation of the exemplary digital initiatives that have been awarded in each of the eight categories for the platinum, gold and silver awards.

STQC Accessibility Certification Scheme

S3WaaS framework empowers Government entities to build secure, scalable & sugamya websites that are hosted on the NIC cloud in a very short time. SWaaS framework was launched last year, with a goal to cover all the districts of the country within a short span of time.

Unified Messaging Platform

MeitY is releasing its Unified Messaging Platform for secure and efficient Government communications, as part of the mandate

NIC is the implementing agency for this large deployment.

The Unified Messaging Platform of NIC envisages to provide email service to over 5 million officials of Central and State Government employees

The service has been built through an open source solution in accordance with the “Policy on adoption of Open source software for Government of India” by MeitY, thus, ensuring strategic control of Government over the solution.

The service provide a multilingual platform comprising of 11 local languages with a go-live in English and Hindi initially, followed by other languages.

The service ensures security, performance, redundancy and service continuity in addition to a rich feature set.

Public DNS

MeitY will soon be implementing the Public Domain Name Server for India.

NIC would be configuring the setup which would be offered to all citizens DNS stands for Domain Name System.

India’s Public DNS, as an inherent feature, would ensure fast access, enhanced availability, secure access, maintain data privacy and data localization within India and will be one of the key components to ensure Internet Resilience.

Cyber Crisis Management Plan (CCMP)

The Cyber Crisis Management Plan (CCMP) for Countering Cyber Attacks and Cyber Terrorism is a framework document for dealing with cyber-related incidents.

CERT-In is leading the implementation of CCMP across Central Government.

Ministries/Departments / states and critical organizations operating in Indian cyberspace.

Along with the CCMP-2019, CERT-In has developed Guidance framework for CCMP which will enable various entities including Central Government Ministries/Departments/ entities under their administrative control to prepare & implement their own CCMP.

Centres of Excellence

Centre of Excellence on IOT Open Lab at Bangalore: It intends to support 100 start-ups per year with an overall target to support 500 start-ups over a period of 5 years.

Electronics System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) Incubator at Bhubaneswar with state-of-art facilities to promote ESDM innovation, R&D and create Indian intellectual property is the first of its kind in the Eastern Region of the country. The incubator will be implemented by STPI in collaboration with Government of Odisha, IIIT Bhubaneswar and IESA. It aims to leverage 40 start-ups over period of 5 years.

Centre of Excellence for IoT at Gandhinagar: Center of Excellence for IoT and AI at IIT Gandhinagar will add momentum to the deep tech innovation ecosystem and has the major focus areas of manufacturing (Industry 4.0), Biotech, Pharma and healthcare.

NASSCOM Centre of Excellence for IoT, Vizag: CoE for IoT at Vizag in partnership with NASSCOM and Government of Andhra Pradesh will focus on technology intervention for bringing positive change in Agriculture, Healthcare and Industry 4.0.

DigidhanMitraChatbot:

Designed and developed by NIC, the AI based DigidhanMitra enables a text & voice based conversation with the user, mining the Digidhan Portal, to give customized information in graphical, tabular and textual format. It provides bank wise transactions details as well as growth pattern of various modes of transactions like BHIM, IMPS, Cards etc. in tabular as well as graphical form.

Technology Incubation and Development of Entrepreneurs (TIDE 2.0) Scheme:

The Scheme has been devised to promote the momentum into the tech entrepreneurship landscape. The Scheme provides financial and technical support to incubators engaged in supporting ICT start-ups using emerging technologies such as IoT, AI, Block-chain, Robotics etc. in seven pre-identified areas of societal relevance.

NIC TechGov Awards:

NIC TechGov is a competitive platform that presents a unique opportunity to the NIC officers posted in states and districts offices across the nation to accelerate their knowledge and learn emerging technologies.

Swachhata Awards:

NIC has participated in Swachhata activities since the launch of the Swachh Bharat mission. An audit was undertaken by NIC for ranking/ awards to the field offices at the State level for their achievements and on its basis ranking of NIC State Centres was finalized.

More than 10,000 Ayushman Bharat-Health and Wellness Centres become operational

The first Health and Wellness Centre (HWC)under Ayushman Bharat was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Bijapur Chhattisgarh on 14thApril 2018.

The states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala have lead the way with the highest number of HWCs under Ayushman Bharat.

Ayushman Bharat:

Ayushman Bharat (AB), is India’s path to Universal Health Coverage.

It signifies a move from selective health care to the delivery of a comprehensive range of services spanning preventive, promotive, curative (both outpatient and hospitalization) rehabilitative and palliative care.

It is perhaps the single most important reform measure of Government of India, to address the major challenges of increasing prevalence of chronic diseases, high out of pocket expenses, and fragmented care delivery.

Details:

Ayushman Bharat has two components which are complementary to each other.

Under its first component, 1,50,000 existing Sub- Health Centres (SHCs) and Primary Health Centres (PHCs) will be transformed to Health & Wellness Centres (HWCs) to deliver Comprehensive Primary Health Care (CPHC), that is universal and free to users, with a focus on wellness and the delivery of an expanded range of services close to the community.

The wide range of services provided at these Health and Wellness Centres will encompass maternal and child health services, communicable and non-communicable diseases, services for the elderly and palliative care including free essential drugs and diagnostic services.

An expanded range of services will be provided at the HWCs, with the level of complexity of care at the PHC being higher than at that at SHC. States will also have the flexibility to expand the service package to address problems of local importance as defined by disease prevalence and community feedback.

In the urban context, the Urban Primary Health Centres or Urban Health Posts where they exist, would be strengthened to deliver comprehensive primary health care.

The norm of One Multipurpose worker MPW-(F) per 10,000 population supported by four-five ASHAs, will enable outreach services, preventive and promotive care and home and community-based services.

Therefore, in the urban context, the team of ANM and ASHA would be considered to equivalent to a frontline provider team with the first point of referral being the UPHC catering to about at 50,000 populations.

HWC at the sub centre level are being staffed by suitably trained Mid- Level Health Provider (MLHP), also called as Community Health Officers (CHO).

Super-Efficient Air Conditioning programme launched by EESL:

Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises under Ministry of Power, Government of India, launched its Super-Efficient Air Conditioning Programme for residential and institutional consumers in the BSES area.

The Super-Efficient ACs Super-Efficient Air Conditioning programme launched by EESL to be 40% more efficient than current 3-star technology.

Besides promoting energy efficiency, the Super-Efficient AC programme will also help to reduce the peak power demand enabling the two organisations to harness synergies to promote energy security and sustainability.

The programme directly addresses the prospect of the nearly four-fold increase in energy consumption from buildings and cooling appliances in India by 2032, while also addressing goals of India’s Cooling Action Plan and Hydrochlorofluro carbons Phase Out Management Plan, enabling achievement of India’s targets under the Kigali and Paris Agreements.

How will the program function?

EESL will conduct all activities related to source, supply, complaint management and redressal, and fulfilment of warranty obligations for the products.

Applying its proven business model of demand aggregation, EESL will mobilize the capital of INR 150 crores for the programme while redeeming its investment through upfront payments for the super-efficient ACs from customers.

EESL has initiated the procurement process of super-efficient ACs, thereby capitalising on opportunities for leveraging economies of scale through demand aggregation, and so reducing the cost of this superior green technology to consumers.

EESL’s investment in the programme is partially supported by a grant from the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

Further, Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing necessary grant support and loan while United Nations Environment (UNEP) is providing technical assistance support to the Super-Efficient AC programme.

EESLmart.in:

During the event, EESL also launched its e-Commerce website, in, through which customers of BRPL, and of other DISCOMs that partner with EESL in future, can purchase the super-efficient air conditioners.

With a focus on increasing consumer adoption of, and access to, energy efficient technologies, the website will also allow customers to purchase other appliances distributed by EESL, including induction cookstoves and products sold under the UJALA programme – 9-Watt LED bulbs, LED luminaries, and BEE 5-star rated energy efficient fans.

Global Environment Facility (GEF):

GEF is an independent financing mechanism that was established on the eve of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit to address global environmental issues.

The GEF is an international partnership of 183 countries, international institutions, civil society organizations and the private sector.

Indus Waters Treaty 1960 : Present Status of Development in India

Indus River System:

The Indus system comprises of main Indus River, Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas and Sutlej. The basin is mainly shared by India and Pakistan with a small share for China and Afghanistan.

Indus Water Treaty 1960:

Under the Indus Waters Treaty signed between India and Pakistan in 1960, all the waters of three rivers, namely Ravi, Sutlej and Beas ( Eastern Rivers) were allocated to India for exclusive use. The waters of Western rivers – Indus, Jhelum, and Chenab were allocated to Pakistan except for specified domestic, non-consumptive and agricultural use permitted to India as provided in the Treaty.

India has also been given the right to generate hydroelectricity through run of the river (RoR) projects on the Western Rivers which, subject to specific criteria for design and operation is unrestricted.

Present status of development in India:

To utilize the waters of the Eastern rivers which have been allocated to India for exclusive use, India has constructed Bhakra Dam on Satluj, Pong and Pandoh Dam on Beas and Thein (Ranjitsagar) on Ravi. These storage works, together with other works like Beas-Sutlej Link, Madhopur-Beas Link, Indira Gandhi Nahar Project etc has helped India utilize nearly entire share (95 %) of waters of Eastern rivers.However, about 2 MAF of water annually from Ravi is reported to be still flowing unutilized to Pakistan below Madhopur. To stop the flow of these waters that belong to India for its utilization in India, following steps have been taken:

Resumption of Construction of Shahpurkandi project:

This project will help in utilizing the waters coming out from powerhouse of Thein dam to irrigate 37000 hectares of land in J&K and Punjab and generate 206 MW of power. The project was scheduled to be completed by September 2016. However, following a dispute between the state of J&K and Punjab, the work on the project had been suspended since 2014. The construction work has now resumed by Govt of Punjab under monitoring of Govt of India.

Construction of Ujh multipurpose project:

This project will create a storage of water on river Ujh , a tributary of Ravi for irrigation and power generation in India itself and provide a total irrigation benefits of 31,380 ha in Kathua, Hiranagar and Samba district of J&K apart from providing water for the district Kathua of J&K.

The 2nd Ravi Beas link below Ujh:

This project is being planned to tap excess water flowing down to Pakistan through river Ravi, even after construction of Thein Dam, by constructing a barrage across river Ravi for diverting water through a tunnel link to Beas basin. The project is expected to utilize about 0.58 MAF of surplus waters below Ujhdam by diverting the same to Beas basin for benefits of other co-basin states. The government of India has declared this project as National Project .

The above three projects will help India to utilize its entire share of waters given under the Indus Waters Treaty 1960.